Experts from the world of the functional food and beverages industry and academia are invited to present their research findings and current projects to the international functional nutrition community and the broader nutraceutical industry at Vitafoods Europe 2015.

The Vitafoods Europe Executive Advisory Board have issued a call for Poster Presentations for the event which takes place in Geneva on 5th to 7th May and attracts over 700 exhibitors and 14,000 visitors from over 100 countries.

Vitafoods Europe presents a unique platform for showcasing excellence in nutritional science, innovation, business and education, and professional networking and exchange. Successful entries will have the opportunity to present their latest findings to the broader nutraceutical and functional nutrition industry, forge new partnerships and source funding opportunities with venture capital companies looking for investments and network with colleagues.

Topics should be related to academic research or a potential new product or process and ideally provide solutions to identified needs and commercial solutions. Abstracts focusing on innovation, ideas and the application of new research findings will be prioritised.

Carolina Lindahl, Vitafoods Europe Conference and Content Manager, says, “Our call for posters gives successful entries the chance to present their insights to their peers and potential new business partners. A large number of attendees specifically come to the show looking to fulfil business and research needs and the Poster Presentations area is one of the first places these attendees look to for new ideas.

“We’re looking for the industry’s brightest minds to share their latest thinking and research so that these innovators can launch their insights on a wider platform to the businesses and individuals they’re looking to get in front of.”

Essential Trading’s Organic Peanut Butter has won the award for best Vegetarian Store Cupboard Ingredient in The Veggie Awards 2015.

The awards were judged by a prestigious panel of vegetarian celebrities and food professionals, including chef Rose Elliot who judged the Vegetarian Store Cupboard Ingredients category.

Rose comments: “This is the best peanut butter I have ever tasted and I find it such a useful product as it’s popular with young and old, not to mention rich in protein and so versatile. The fantastic thing about it is you can use it straight from the jar in snacks like cookies, infuse it in Asian-style sauces, or mix it with honey and cocoa powder as a quick energy treat!”

Many other brands of peanut butter add cheap vegetable oils, unnecessary trans fats and added salt and sugar to their products. Essential’s range, however, prides itself on being made from 100 per cent peanuts. As sustainability and accountability have become hot topics in recent years, particularly in the food industry following the 2013 horse meat scandal, Essential is keen to strip everything back to basics. Its sustainable range is made from lightly-toasted, organically grown peanuts.

Conventionally grown peanuts are at risk of contamination from pesticides because they have a thin skin and lack a hard shell, so they absorb a lot of the chemicals. Essential source their peanuts from organic growers who raise their crops without chemical fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides.

Sensient Flavors has developed new beverage concepts that respond to the rising demand for products that influence and balance our emotional state in a gentle, natural way.

Health and wellness benefits are no longer simply a matter of physical nourishment - the emotional influence of food and drink is also an important consideration. With that in mind, these new products support manufacturers as they strive to create successful “emotion drinks”.

Sensient is enabling its customers to capitalise on this trend by taking a “soft” approach. Their holistic concepts tap into the power of berries and are based on findings of how colour psychology can influence our moods. The results are drinks that deliver a range of harmonious colour-flavour combinations and correspond to a variety of emotional states.

The four basic concept lines are Relaxing-green, Calming-blue, Uplifting-yellow and Energizing-red. For example, Sensient’s Calming concept combines the juicy, ripe flavour of blueberry with a hop extract, whereas the Relaxing version features gooseberry and hop. Fruity sea buckthorn and ripe apricot notes give the Uplifting drink its distinct taste and Energizing benefits from hints of redcurrant, strawberry and ginger to boost both body and soul. These four base concepts can be adjusted individually to create bespoke products with additional functional ingredients. In addition, Sensient’s flavouring experts can help to mask undesirable off-notes while maintaining a highly desirable overall flavour impact.

Hans-Juergen Sachs, General Manager, Sensient Flavors Beverage Europe, says, “In our stressful lives, the need for mood balancing food and drinks has steadily increased, to calm us down or to give us an emotional boost. Especially the tea sector currently demonstrates the potential this ‘mood market’ offers. With our holistic concepts for mood drinks, we can help customers to capitalise on this exciting opportunity for versatile beverages.”

Chlorella Crunches are available in a range of sizes, shapes and flavours and with varying concentrations of Chlorella. They can be seasoned and eaten alone as a tasty and healthy snack, or included in a salty snack mix. Alternatively they can be used as an inclusion in a wide range of products, including yoghurts, breakfast cereals, snack bars, soups, salads and many more.

New Chlorella Crunches contain Allma’s high quality sun-grown Chlorella powder blended with white rice powder sourced from Europe. They are free of GMOs, gluten and all other major allergens.

Sofia Mendonça, Business Development Manager at Allma, says: “Chlorella Crunches have a wonderful crispy texture that adds depth and excitement to all kinds of food products. They are available in several sizes and shapes, and a range of flavours, which means they are extremely versatile in terms of the applications they can be used for. They work equally well in sweet and savoury products and – thanks to Chlorella’s nutrition profile – provide the opportunity to boost the health credentials of products in a wide range of categories.”

The sun-grown Chlorella supplied by Allma is a rich, natural and 100% vegetable source of protein, including all nine of the essential amino acids. It also contains significant levels of Omega 3 and 6 oils, complex carbohydrates, phytonutrients including lutein, beta-carotene, chlorophyll and zeaxanthin, and a wide spectrum of vitamins and minerals that are essential for a healthy life.

Sofia adds: “Chlorella Crunches are a great example of how Allma offers its customers much more than just a commodity product. We are focused on adding value to Chlorella and working closely with companies to help them develop new products that really exploit the potential of this amazing ingredient. Microalgae production is very sustainable and Chlorella is emerging as the food of the future. We are committed to helping our customers ensure they are at the vanguard of this trend with fantastic innovations like our new Chlorella Crunches.”

Allma’s Chlorella is grown at the state-of-the-art Algafarm production unit in Leiria, 100km north of Lisbon, in closed food-grade production systems, called photo-bioreactors. The photo-bioreactors are exposed to sunlight to encourage photosynthesis, mimicking the growth of microalgae as it occurs in nature.

Sun-grown Chlorella is highly valued because it is exceptionally rich in nutrients that develop naturally as a result of exposure to the sun. However, because Allma’s Chlorella is grown in closed production systems, there is far less risk of the contamination often associated with Chlorella produced in uncovered ‘ponds’ that are exposed to external elements. The closed production systems at Algafarm also enable greater control over cultivation conditions, ensuring consistently high quality Chlorella every time.

Allma is able to guarantee the quality of its Chlorella thanks to a rigorous and ongoing testing and analysis programme. All of Allma’s Chlorella ingredients are manufactured sustainably in Portugal to HACCP food-grade standards. They are non-GMO and fully approved for use in foods by authorities worldwide, including in the EU.

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